Local kids participate in Elks Hoop Shoot

Elks Lodge No. 1480 hosted the annual Elks Hoop Shoot Saturday, Dec. 15, at LT Cook Gym. The contest, which is part of a national event, was open to boys and girls ages 8 to 13, and the local winners will advance to the district competition.

The Breckenridge winners were: boys age group 8 and 9, Braden Marshall, first place; girls age group 10-11, Kaysi Wilcox, first place; boys age group 10 to 11, Aaden Mendez, first place, and Joseph Juneau, second place; and, boys age group 12-13, Brysen Hash, first place, and Reyse Hash, second place.

The contest is divided into three age groups: 8-9, 10-11 and 12-13. The age groups are based on the participants’ ages as of April 1, 2018.

The first and second place winners in each category received medals, and the first place winners are eligible to participate in the district contest in Arlington in January. The Elks Lodge will provide gas money for that trip.

The winners from the district contest will go on to the state competition in Carrollton. The regional hoops shoot will also be held in Dallas, and the national contest will be in Chicago. Last year, four kids from Texas made it to the national competition.

Everything above the district level will be an overnight trip, and the participants and their parents will get to attend the events as guests of the Elks. Six national winners — a boy and a girl in each age category — will be named.

The national winners will each receive a trophy and have their name inscribed on a plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. The top-scoring boy and girl will be named the national champions and will receive the Getty Powell Award.

Cutline, top photo: Participants, judges and organizers gathered for the Elks Hoop Shoot on Saturday, Dec. 15, in LT Cook Gym. The first place winners will go on to the district contest next month. (Photo by Tony Pilkington/Breckenridge Texan)